Bruises- Modern Zelink- discontinued :(

Frown

*Monday*

The weekend had been rather uneventful. Link and Zelda hadn't spoken to each other at all. Mipha.... well, the recent events had begun to fade away, out of the spotlight.
For Zelda, at least.

Link went to school. Sean was happy about that. Annoyingly happy.
Link came into class later than usual, just before the bell rang.

"Hey! Where've you been? I missed you!"
Link shrugged Sean's hand off his shoulder.

"I like your gloves. It's a bit warm for them, though."
He shrugged again and sat down at his seat.
"Is something wrong?"
"Shut up."

Sean didn't seem to hear him.
"How was your week off? What did you do? Did you go somewhere? What was it like?"
"Shut. Up."
Sean still didn't react. "Did you have fun? Do you have pictures? Or were you sick? Did you pl-"
Link stood up with his hands on the desk, glaring at Sean. "Shut the hell up!"

Sean was taken aback by the sudden outburst. "Okay, jeez, sorry. I was just curious. And did you have fun?"
"Are you stupid? I don't want to talk to you! Fuckin idiot."
"I- wow. Wow. Just wow. You're being awfully rude."
"No, you're the rude one. I obviously don't want to talk, and I told you to shut three times! Three times! Are you deaf? Because it sure seems like it!"
"I'm sorry! Hylia. You're in a really bad mood."
"Ya think!? My dad- no. You know what? I don't care. I do not care."

Link took a deep breath and sat down. He had to stop before he said too much.

Then, Zelda came in. Just in time. That would keep Sean from asking too many questions.
And just in time to not be tardy. The bell rang immediately after she took her seat.

"So, Link, how was your week off- y'know what? I'll ask later. Now isn't a good time."
She smiled.

Maybe it was the death glare he gave her that made her stop, or maybe it was just common sense. Either way, she caught on faster than Sean. Much faster.

Class started, and he didn't speak for the rest of class.
The teacher tried to stop him as he left to go to his next class, but he just ignored her. He didn't care if he'd get in trouble. He didn't want to talk. Not to Sean, or the teacher, or even Zelda. He just didn't care.

He let out a short sigh, adjusting his bookbag. He didn't need anyone's help or concern. He was fine on his own. He could handle this. He was practically an adult, after all. He had to grow up. For his own sake, and Aryll's.

It was important to stay strong. On the outside, at least. It didn't matter what he was feeling. Just as light as he didn't show it. And he was a master at that. He had been lying to everyone for years.

<<×>>

Zelda decided that Link probably didn't want to talk to anyone. He hadn't been that cooperative at all recently. He seemed a lot more... serious and solemn.

And those gloves. There was something going on there. There was something fishy about it.
...
That was stupid. "Fishy." Ugh. How ignorant.
He seemed to like calling Mipha "fish." It was weird, but kind of cute.
...
She should stop thinking about that before she got sad.

Recently, everything she thought eventually led back to Mipha. And that meant that virtually everything made her sad.

It was crazy how something that happened a couple weeks ago could still make you feel empty and upset.

Had it already been that long? Wow. And she and Link had barely talked in that whole period of time. A little, but not much.

She should probably check up on him.

~

Z: hey
Z: how are you?
L: why should you care
Z: link...
Z: I'm just a little worried, that's all
Z: you've been all... solemn recently
Z: is something wrong? What happened? Did your dad do something?
L: No.
Z: hm
Z: you capitalized that AND put a period at the end
Z: there's definitely something going on
L: there is
L: n
L: o
L: t
L: h
L: i
L: n
L: g
L: going on, zelda
L: I repeat,
Z: you don't have to do that again!
Z: it's fine
Z: I understand
Z: you don't have to tell me if you don't want to
Z: just remember, I want to help on any way I can
Z: even if it's just listening, because trust me, that helps a lot
Z: if you just talk to me, you'll feel much better
L: yeah, but your parents track our phone, and I'd prefer if you're the only person that knows
L: and I can't exactly just walk over to your house with what's going on right now, or vice versa
Z: hm
Z: maybe on the way home from school?
L: ...
L: I don't know if that would work...
L: I might not be coming to school in the next few days
Z: you can't constantly be absent, you know
Z: there is a limit to that
Z: and u don't want you getting in a bunch if trouble at school, too
L: it's fine
L: this has happened plenty of times
L: I've pretty much mastered the art of making fake notes from parents
Z: link!
L: what? I've been doing it for years
L: you don't need to worry about me
L: I promise :)

~

That answered nothing. It just left her with more questions.

Well, it did answer something. There was, in fact, something he was hiding. Hopefully, though, it wouldn't be hidden for too much longer.
And hopefully, he wouldn't get in huge trouble for missing a ton of days.
Hopefully.

But hoping never did much, did it? At least, not recently. And probably not ever for Link.